Start with good ingredients for a quality soup

November 01, 2009|By SCOTT C. ANDERSON / Special to The Herald-Mail

Olla podrida is a Spanish stew made from pork and beans and a wide variety of other meats and vegetables, often including chickpeas (garbanzo beans), chorizo sausage and chicken depending on the recipe used. The meal is traditionally prepared in a clay pot over several hours. It is eaten as a main course, sometimes as a single dish.

This recipe is a classic Culinary Institute of America recipe and one that we made in class this week while I was attending culinary classes in Hyde Park, N.Y. I think you will find this recipe quite delicious and filling and easy to prepare with a few simple ingredients.

For this recipe you will also see new measurements pertaining to weight and or volume. Please pay close attention to specific measurements, and remember if you start with quality ingredients you will finish with a quality soup.

- Scott C. Anderson is associate food service director and chef with Shepherd University dining services.